It’s About Your Husband

It’s About Your Husband

by Lauren Lipton

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I’m Kim Alexander and this is Fiction Nation. The book is It’s About Your Husband by Lauren Lipton. Before I start criticizing, let me say I enjoyed this book, it was fun in the right places and I learned some cool tips regarding wearing slingback heels on the streets of New York.

That said, the story of transplanted Californian Iris Hedge and her adventures in New York City had a few things that made me narrow my eyes a little bit. The tale revolves around unemployed Iris accidentally taking on the role of private detective, spying on cheating husbands. The trouble starts when Iris and the possible cheater keep running into each other. (To say she is a terrible detective is like saying the Grand Canyon is sort of a ditch.) And to make matters more convoluted, she’s kind of into the guy. How can that be a good idea, Iris?

But the characters suffer from Soap Opera syndrome  no one is capable of telling anyone the truth even when it’s in their best interest. Of course it leads to hijinks, but in some cases I found it contrived. There’s a lot of, “I can’t tell you now. Let’s meet for lunch next Thursday and I’ll tell you everything.” “No! I must never see you again! Tell me now!” “Ooops, that’s my cell  gotta go.” It was frustrating. But also in good old soapy fashion, things were Not As They Seem and while I at first thought I had figured out who was doing what to whom, I abandoned my ideas and by the end was genuinely surprised by the big reveal.

As far as Iris, our heroine, I knew she was in trouble right off the top when it turned out she was still pining for her soon-to-be ex-husband, the voice over artist, which is one step removed from disc jockey. I wanted to take her hand, pull her out of the book, and tell her a few things. One thing, actually. You listen, too. Here it is.

Never get involved with a DJ.

You will spend your life laughing politely as he works on bits for his show in lieu of conversation. You will never, never receive a gift that doesn’t have a station logo on it, and if you are very lucky it won’t be a t-shirt that says ‘BIG BUTTS DRIVE ME NUTS SPRING BREAK ’04 PANAMA CITY WITH PIG 107’. And finally: less talk, more rock, if you know what I’m saying. Let my life serve as a bitter example.

Moving on.

Lipton succeeds in finding the balance between falling down the stairs, tripping over the dog slapstick, and some genuinely serious quandaries for Iris. Her relationship with her mother is interesting, although I wanted to find out more about her mother’s transformation from suburban housewife into New Age goddess. And there are a scattering of fashion tips that I really liked, and I wanted more of that as well. So despite its ups and downs, like I said, I enjoyed this book, and I’m looking forward to see what Lipton comes up with next. Also, if you want to find out how to prevent blisters when racing around in your stilettos, well, you have to read the book. It’s About Your Husband by Lauren Lipton. I’m Kim Alexander and this is Fiction Nation on Book Radio, SiriusXM Channel 80.

I’m Kim Alexander and this is a Fiction Nation minute. The book is It’s About Your Husband by Lauren Lipton.

We meet Iris, recently separated, recently moved to New York, and very recently unemployed. She’ll do anything to make ends meet, even spy on cheating husbands. She has no experience, no wardrobe, and can’t read a subway map. Everything goes very wrong for Iris before anything starts going right, and it’s all very funny. It’s About Your Husband gets a little contrived with coincidences and double crosses, and I wanted to shout at the characters to just tell each other what was going on  but that would have made for a very short book! The author throws in fashion tips and lets Iris discover some great things about her new city, and though it was uneven, it was an entertaining read. It’s About Your Husband by Lauren Lipton. I’m Kim Alexander and this is Fiction Nation on Book Radio, SiriusXM Channel 80.

I’m Kim Alexander and this is a Fiction Nation minute. The book is It’s About Your Husband by Lauren Lipton.

Iris Hedge has just left her slacker husband, moved to New York and started a fabulous new job  sounds great, but the job disappears in less than a month, and Iris is broke and friendless in the big city. She winds up as a sort of private eye, spying on a potentially cheating husband, but is so bad at it that the guy spots her almost immediately. Are they sort of falling for each other? Because that would be inappropriate and a little icky. Also, are you allowed to bring a dog jogging in Central Park, how do you prevent blisters in your slingback heels, and what’s New York like in mid-August? All these questions are eventually answered. It’s About Your Husband is a debut novel, and Lipton tries to get a lot in  fashion tips, slapstick humor, and family drama. It works often enough to be quite entertaining. It’s About Your Husband by Lauren Lipton. I’m Kim Alexander and this is Fiction Nation on Book Radio, SiriusXM Channel 80.

I’m Kim Alexander and this is a Fiction Nation minute. The book is It’s About Your Husband by Lauren Lipton.

This is the tale of newly single Iris, transplanted from sunny, peaceful California to New York City. Her great new job vanishes within a week, but rather than give up and go home, she takes on a job as a private eye, spying on the cheating spouse of a wealthy socialite. But is he cheating? She’s such a bad detective that it’s really almost beside the point. The fun is to watch Iris come to terms with her tiny apartment, her unusual neighbors, and her complete lack of the proper shoes. It’s About Your Husband is the debut novel from Lipton, and she may be guilty of trying to throw too much into the mix, adding a subplot about Iris’s new agey mother which sort of lays there unresolved. I liked this book best when Lipton stuck to Iris’s adventures in her new city, and I also enjoyed some actually very useful fashion tips. It’s About Your Husband by Lauren Lipton. I’m Kim Alexander on Fiction Nation on Book Radio, SiriusXM Channel 80.